CN111448823A - Network reporting in cellular networks - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of indicating and transmitting neighbour measurements in a cellular communications network, a mobile device may be instructed to use broadcast or dedicated measurement instructions for measurements. The instructions may include a white list and a black list defining which cells the mobile device should report.

Description

Network reporting in cellular networks

Technical Field

The present application relates to reporting in cellular networks, in particular Self Organizing Network (SON) reporting from a UE to a base station.

Background

Wireless communication systems, such as third generation (3G) mobile telephone standards and techniques are well known. The 3G standards and technologies were developed by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP). Third generation wireless communications were developed to support macro cellular mobile telephone communications. Communication systems and networks are evolving towards broadband mobile systems.

Fig. 1 shows an example of a cellular network consisting of three base stations. In a cellular Radio communication system, a User Equipment (UE) is connected to a Radio Access Network (RAN) via a Radio link. The RAN includes: a set of base stations providing radio links to UEs located in cells covered by the set of base stations; and an interface to a Core Network (CN) that provides over Network control. It should be noted that the RAN and the CN perform their respective functions on the entire network. For convenience, the term "cellular network" refers to the combined RAN and CN, and as will be appreciated, refers to the various systems that perform the disclosed functions.

The third generation partnership project developed a so-called long Term Evolution (L TE, &lttttranslation = "L" &tttl &ltt/t &tttong Term Evolution), Evolved Universal terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN, Evolved Universal Mobile telecommunications system terrestrial Radio Access Network (r) Network) in which one or more macrocells are supported by a base station eNodeB or eNB (Evolved NodeB). recently, L TE further Evolved towards a so-called 5G or NR (New Radio) system in which one or more macrocells are supported by a base station gN.

For example, for small packet sizes (typically 32 bytes), NR is intended to support Ultra-reliable (Ultra-reliable) and low-delay communications (UR LL C, low-latency communications), user-plane (user-plane) delay of 1ms, reliability of 99.99999%, and packet loss rate of 10 at the physical layer^-5Or 10^-6. Another trend is to support large-scale machine type communication (mtc), typical mtc applications are delay tolerant, power consumption sensitive, and complexity/cost sensitive. mtc applications may be deployed in relatively harsh wireless environments, and may require supportExtended coverage techniques (extended coverage technologies).

mtc services aim to support a large number of devices over a long period of time through energy-efficient communication channels in which data transmission occurs infrequently and rarely with each device. For example, one cell may support thousands of devices. Thus, mtc services are related to Internet of Things (IoT) applications. Another standard related to the internet of things is Narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT, Narrowband IoT), which uses a single Narrowband of 200 kHz. NB-IoT is intended to support high connection density, focusing especially on indoor coverage, low cost and low power consumption.

Self-organizing Network (SON) technology may be used to assist in the deployment and operation of cellular networks to reduce manual configuration requirements. One particular aspect of SON in cellular networks is Automatic Neighbor Relation (ANR) enabling cells to identify neighbor cells, which information may be useful in Automatic physical cell identification settings, determining handover-over candidates, and other aspects of NW maintenance and configuration.

In existing systems, ANR employs a four-step process (process) for UEs to obtain neighbor Information and transmit the Information to the network.

It may be more complicated if these four steps are applied to the NB-IoT system, since measurement information can only be acquired in idle mode, while dedicated configuration messages and UE reports can only be sent in connected mode. Therefore, the UE must transition between different states in order to complete the procedure, resulting in inefficiencies in both signaling overhead and power consumption.

Therefore, improvements are needed for measurement systems, in particular NB-IoT systems.

Disclosure of Invention

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

The present application provides a method of reporting cell information, the method being performed by a mobile device communicating with a base station in a cellular communication network, the method comprising: receiving, at the mobile device, measurement instructions from the base station; detecting a signal and determining an identity of at least one cell when the base station from the at least one cell is not connected, the at least one cell not currently serving the mobile device; comparing the identifier of the at least one cell with a cell blacklist, wherein the cell blacklist is a list of cells requesting the mobile terminal not to report; acquiring system information from at least one cell which is not listed in the cell blacklist; establishing connection with the base station; and reporting information of at least one cell not listed in the cell blacklist.

The measurement instruction may be received while the mobile device is in an idle state.

The measurement instruction may be received in a broadcast message.

The measurement instruction may be received in system information broadcast by the base station.

The measurement instruction may be received while the UE is in a connected state.

The measurement instruction may be received in a dedicated message transmitted to the mobile device.

The dedicated message may be an RRC message.

The RRC message may be included in an RRC connection release message.

The UE may release the connection after receiving the measurement instruction and before the step of detecting the signal.

The measurement instruction may include the blacklist.

The method may further comprise: comparing the identity of the at least one cell to a cell white list, the cell white list being a list of cells requesting the mobile device to report.

The measurement instruction may include the white list.

The mobile device may only obtain the system information of the cells in the white list, or the mobile device preferentially obtains the system information of the cells in the white list.

The method may further comprise: the power and/or quality of the measured signal is compared to a corresponding threshold and cell information is only reported if the power and/or quality of the measured signal is greater than a configured threshold.

The mobile device may report cell information with the highest power that is not blacklisted.

The mobile device may report only cell information in the white list, or the mobile device preferentially reports cell information in the white list.

A particular blacklist may be provided for intra-frequency cells, inter-frequency cells, and/or inter-RAT cells that may be detected.

A particular blacklist may be provided for at least one particular frequency.

A specific blacklist may be provided for inter-RAT cells that may be detected.

The steps of receiving, detecting, comparing and obtaining may be performed while the mobile device is in an idle state.

The method may begin in response to the mobile device transitioning to an active state for a purpose unrelated to measurement.

The cell identity may be a physical cell identity, and the reporting information includes at least one of a PCI, ECGI, TA, and P L MN ID.

The step of detecting a signal may be performed on a frequency indicated in advance for cell reselection in a system information message.

The blacklist may be all or part of a blacklist received in a system information message.

The system information message may be SIB4-NB, SIB5-NB or SIB 7-NB.

The mobile device may report only information of the strongest power cell and/or strongest quality cell detected from the measurement order.

The blacklist may be empty, the mobile device reporting at least one of a PCI, ECGI, TA and P L MN ID of a strongest cell, the strongest cell being a cell satisfying a signal power threshold and/or a quality threshold per frequency.

The present application further provides a method for acquiring cell information, the method being performed by a base station in a cellular communication network, the method comprising: sending a measurement instruction in a system information broadcast message, wherein the system information broadcast message at least comprises a cell blacklist which does not request information; and receiving related information of at least one cell which is not listed in the blacklist from UE, wherein the UE receives the system information broadcast message.

The broadcast message may also include a cell white list requesting information.

In another aspect, the present application also provides a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, which may include at least one of a hard disk, a Compact Disc Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), an optical Memory, a magnetic Memory, a Read Only Memory (ROM), a Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM), an Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM), an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), and a Flash Memory.

Drawings

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Elements in the figures have been simplified and are not necessarily drawn to scale. For ease of understanding, reference numerals have been included in the various figures.

FIG. 1 is an exemplary diagram of a cellular communication network;

fig. 2 is a flow chart of reporting measurement information.

Detailed Description

The embodiments described herein are only a few embodiments of the present application and not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a cellular network consisting of three base stations (e.g., enbs or gnbs, depending on the particular cellular standard and terminology). Typically, each of the three base stations is deployed by a cellular network operator to provide geographic coverage for the UEs in the area in which it is located. The three base stations constitute a Radio Area Network (RAN). Each base station provides radio coverage for the UEs in its area or cell. The three base stations are connected to each other via an X2 interface and to the core network via an S1 interface. It will be appreciated that only basic details are shown here to illustrate the key characteristics of a cellular network.

Each base station includes hardware and software for performing RAN functions including communication with the core network and other base stations, transmission of control and data signals between the core network and the UEs, and maintaining wireless communication for the UEs associated with each base station. The core network includes hardware and software that implement network functions, such as overall network (overall network) management and control, and call and data routing (routing). For convenience, the term UE refers to all types of mobile devices.

Methods are provided for a UE to obtain network information and transmit the information to a network. Compared with the prior art, the method of the application tries to improve the power consumption and reduce the signaling overhead.

Fig. 2 is a flow chart of a method of acquiring network information, starting with step 200 where a UE in an idle state (RRC _ ID L E) connects to a base station.

In step 201, the UE reads a System Information (SI) configuration from its serving cell. Step 201 may be initiated by the UE waking up (i.e., transitioning to an active state), the UE waking up for other purposes, such as initiating a mobile originating call (mobile originating call), or for data transmission.

The received SI transmission includes a set of detailed information about the measurements that the base station wants to perform by the UE receiving the SI transmission. That is, the SI is used as a broadcast signal to request the UE within the cell to make measurements.

In one particular example, the SI includes a white list (white list) and a black list (black list) of PCIs (or other cell identities). These names provide information to the UE on how to report the detected PCI to the network. In one example, PCIs that appear on a white list, assuming that PCIs can be detected in a useful manner, should be reported to the network, while PCIs that appear on a black list should not be reported to the network.

This information is transmitted to the UE using the SI, allowing the UE to remain idle and request the cell for information from the network, thereby reducing unnecessary signaling. For example, the base station may have up-to-date information about a particular PCI and therefore not require any further information. The PCI may be blacklisted and the UE will not transmit any information about the cell to the network.

Conversely, a base station may have old or limited information about a particular PCI or may discover a new PCI to join the network, in which case the PCI may be whitelisted so that any UE that detects the PCI needs to report its results.

In step 202, the UE performs measurements to detect neighboring cells. At this stage, the UE may detect a limited set of information (e.g., only PCI and signal power, or only PCI). In step 203, the UE compares the detected PCI with a white list and a black list. Ignoring all PCIs in the black list, the UE may continue to perform step 204 for any PCIs in the white list to obtain further information for these cells. For example, the UE may acquire the SI of all cells in the white list. Alternatively, the UE may obtain further information of the white-listed cell with the highest detected power.

In a first option, the UE may configure (e.g., via the SI of the serving cell) to acquire further information for any cells not in both lists, or not to acquire further information for those cells.

If the UE does not detect any cell requesting further information, the process ends in step 205 and the UE returns to the previous function (e.g., initiating a mobile originated call).

In step 206, the UE transitions to the connected state and transmits the acquired information to the base station. The base station may then utilize this information as appropriate, for example in an ANR process. In step 207, the UE ends the measurement procedure and returns to the previous function.

In the method of fig. 2, the UE only needs to switch the connection state once, whereas the existing method needs to switch twice, and the method of fig. 2 only requests report transmission, compared to the existing method which requires two requests. Furthermore, once a connection is established, the UE may use the connection for a process to wake up the UE, so there is no additional connection process. Thus, the method of fig. 2 improves the efficiency of detecting and transmitting information to the network. Also, the configuration signaling is a broadcast signal, and thus may be more efficient than dedicated signaling sent to multiple UEs.

The broadcast SI may also include a signal power threshold or quality threshold so that the UE only provides PCI reports that exceed the relevant threshold. The SI may include measurement indications of a partial or full intra-frequency (intra-frequency) cell, an inter-frequency (inter-frequency) cell, and an inter-RAT (Radio Access Technology) cell. The indication for each cell may be the same or different.

The network may reuse the SIB4-NB of the intra-frequency neighbor ANR configuration based on the intra-frequency cell reselection information if any of the following:

sib4-NB may include a blacklist of cell physical identities for ANR reporting.

sib4-NB may include a white list of cell physical identities for ANR reporting.

The sib4-NB may include a signal power threshold and/or a signal quality threshold for ANR reporting.

The NW may reuse SIB-5 of the inter-frequency neighbor ANR configuration based on the inter-frequency cell reselection information if any of the following conditions exists:

sib5-NB may include a blacklist of cell physical identities for ANR reporting.

sib5-NB may include a white list of cell physical identities for ANR reporting.

The sib5-NB may include a signal power threshold and/or a signal quality threshold for ANR reporting.

The NW may reuse SIB-7 of inter-RAT access network (GERAN) neighbor ANR configuration based on inter-RAT cell reselection information if either:

sib7-NB may include a blacklist of cell physical identities for ANR reporting.

sib7-NB may include a white list of cell physical identities for ANR reporting.

The sib7-NB may include a signal power threshold and/or a signal quality threshold for ANR reporting.

For an inter-frequency case or an inter-RAT case, each frequency may provide a white list and/or a black list.

The measurement request may be indicated in the SI in a form comprising at least one white list or black list. This avoids the need for a separate indication to request a measurement. Each list may be an empty list, requesting measurements, but not limiting or not reporting on cells.

Alternatively, the measurement request may be represented by a specific indication. For the intra-frequency case, the SIB4-NB may have an ANR request indication in it. There may be one indication in SIB5-NB and SIB-7NB for the inter-frequency case and the inter-RAT case. The indications for inter-frequency and inter-RAT may request all carrier frequencies listed in SIB5-NB and SIB7-NB, respectively. In addition, each carrier frequency in the SIB5-NB or SIB7-NB may have a particular ANR request indication.

Existing signaling may be reused, alone or in combination with particular signaling, to provide a blacklist of cell identities.

a. For the intra-frequency case, the blacklist may be a superset of PCIs contained in an intra-frequency cell blacklist (intrafreq black cell L ist), an intra-frequency neighbor list (intrafreq neighcell L ist) and a new list dedicated to measurement and ANR reporting, such as an intra-frequency cell ANR blacklist (intrafreq anrblackcell L ist).

b. The blacklist may be a superset of PCIs contained in any inter-frequency neighbor list (inter freqneighcell L ist), inter-frequency cell blacklist (inter freqblack cell L ist) and new lists dedicated to measurement and ANR reporting, such as ANR inter-frequency cell blacklist (inter freqanrblackcell L ist).

c. Since there is no existing signaling that can be reused, a new list, such as ANR cell black list GERAN (anrbackcell L istGERAN), may be defined.

If the UE receives the white list, it may perform measurements only on cells in the white list and provide detailed information. Alternatively, the UE may also provide detailed information to cells that are not in the white list and the black list, or the UE may provide detailed information to cells that are not in either list only when white list cells are not detected.

The UE may report detailed information only to the strongest (power or quality) detecting cell that is eligible for the measurement indication that the UE receives from the base station. This applies in particular to inter-frequency or inter-RAT situations.

As described above, the UE performs the measurement procedure while in the RRC Idle state (RRC _ ID L E mode), but typically immediately before the UE establishes a connection for other purposes.

Typically, the measurement process is triggered by an unrelated process, which initiates the establishment of the connection. The availability of the report will not normally trigger the establishment of the connection and the transmission of the report, but such a configuration may be implemented if desired. Also, connection establishment for mobile terminal calls or data may or may not be used to trigger measurements and transmission reports.

In the above process, the instruction to perform measurement and transmit report is transmitted using a broadcast message. Thus, all UEs in the relevant cell may perform measurements and transmit reports. This may result in repeated measurements and reports, e.g., a situation where a new PCI is detected by multiple UEs. This can be avoided by using dedicated signalling, e.g. RRC messages, so that only part of the UEs are configured to perform measurements and provide reports. All aspects described above in fig. 2 apply in the same way in this example, the only difference being that in step 201, the UE receives a dedicated (RRC) message to indicate the measurements while in the connected state, instead of acquiring information from the SI while in the idle state.

The measurement instruction in step 201 may be included in an RRC connection release (RRCConnectionRelease) message as a dedicated message in an SIB4-NB container (container), an SIB5-NB container, and an SIB7-NB container. The RRC connection release message may include a release reason (ReleaseCause) indicating ANR reporting (anrrreporting). Once the UE receives the measurement instruction, the connection is released to continue to perform the method in the idle state.

In this case, the UE is in RRC connected state, performs the measurements and acquires system information required by steps 202 and 205 above, and provides reports to the bottom layer (lower layer) of the transmission (to trigger the establishment of a connection with the NW).

The network may set a time limit (timeout) to report the measurements the UE may perform the measurements immediately upon entering RRC _ ID L E and then wait for connection establishment for other purposes to transmit the information.

Broadcast signaling and dedicated signaling may be used in combination such that dedicated signaling reloads (overrides) broadcast signaling for certain UEs requesting a particular behavior (behaviour).

In an example using the above approach, a new base station (e.g., eNB) may be deployed into the network. The eNB may include a blank blacklist in its SI broadcast (or dedicated signaling) instead of a whitelist, and may include one or more intra-frequency cells, inter-frequency cells, and inter-RAT frequencies.

Since the UE does not have any cell identities in the blacklist or whitelist, the UE reports at least one of the PCI, ECGI, TA and P L MN ID of the strongest cell in each frequency as long as the signal power threshold/quality threshold is met.

In a variation of the above method, the UE may compare the detected PCI to the blacklist and the whitelist in turn. That is, once the first PCI is detected, it is compared to the list. If the UE is to report the PCI, the UE stops searching for more cells (background cells) and then the UE may continue searching for other cells (additional cells).

In practice, as the eNB fills the (populated) neighbor list, it needs fewer and fewer reports because there are fewer and fewer unknown neighbors, if the eNB blacklists all the cells it is familiar with, most of the reports will be empty (void) and will not be transmitted at all.

If the base station knows a dedicated PCI range, such as that of a CSG cell, and the base station is not interested in ANR reporting for that PCI range, the base station may configure that PCI range in a blacklist. In general, the white list and the black list may be provided in the form of independent identifications or ranges.

The base station may maintain a timestamp (timestamp) for each cell it knows about to indicate the last time it discovered the cell. If the cell is not found (see) before the threshold time, the cell may be deleted from the neighbor cell map (neighbor cell map) of the base station. As each cell threshold time approaches, the base station may be configured to add the cell to a white list in order to refresh the data and maintain the cell in a cell map. Therefore, UEs receiving the white list preferentially process these detected cells.

The white list may also be used to prioritize particular cells to compile RSRQ/RSRP maps of cells (e.g., to support positioning functions or to optimize inter-cell interference). Also for this case, the base station may decide to add the PCI of a known cell to the white list to obtain ANR reports for the cell from UEs located at different locations within the serving cell.

PCI has been used as an identifier in the example, but other identifiers can be used and reported for the eNB's cell, and other parameters can also be reported, such as TA and P L MN ID.

In a variation of the method disclosed herein, the blacklist may not be transmitted and the UE may perform its method without comparing to the blacklist. In this case, all measured information or part of the measured information may be transmitted, the part of the measured information being determined by applying the rules discussed in this application, e.g. comparing with a threshold value.

Although it is not described in detail that any device or apparatus forming part of a network may include at least one processor, memory unit, and communication interface, the processor, memory unit, and communication interface are configured to perform the methods of any aspect of the present application. Further options and choices are described below.

The signal processing functions in the embodiments of the present application, particularly the signal processing capabilities of the gNB and the UE, may be implemented by computing systems or architectures that are well known to those skilled in the art. The computing system may be a desktop, laptop or notebook computer, hand-held computing device (PDA, cell phone, palmtop, etc.), mainframe, server, client, or any other type of special or general purpose computing device as may be satisfactory or applicable to a given application or environment. The computing system may include one or more processors that may execute a general or special purpose processing engine such as, for example, a microprocessor, microcontroller or other control module.

The computing system may also include a main memory, such as a Random Access Memory (RAM) or other dynamic memory, for storing information and instructions to be executed by the processor. The main memory may also be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions by the processor. The computing system may also include a Read Only Memory (ROM) or other static storage device for storing static information and instructions for execution by the processor.

The computing system may also include an information storage system including, for example, a media drive and a removable storage interface. The media drive may include a drive or other mechanism to support fixed or removable storage media, such as a hard disk drive, a floppy disk drive, a magnetic tape drive, an optical disk drive, a compact disk drive (CD) or Digital Video Drive (DVD) read-write drive (R or RW), or other fixed or removable media drive. The storage medium may include, for example, a hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic tape, optical disk, CD, DVD, or other fixed or removable medium that is read by and written to by a media drive. The storage media may include a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon particular computer software or data.

In alternative embodiments, the information storage system may include other similar components for allowing computer programs or other instructions or data to be loaded into the computing system. These components may include, for example, a removable storage unit and interface, such as a program cartridge and cartridge interface, a removable memory (e.g., a flash memory or other removable memory module) and memory slot, and other removable storage units and interfaces that allow software and data to be transferred from the removable storage unit to the computing system.

The computing system may also include a communication interface. The communication interface may be used to allow software and data to be transferred between the computing system and external devices. For example, the communication interfaces can include a modem, a network interface (such as an Ethernet or other network card), a communication port (such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port), a PCMCIA slot and card, and the like. Software and data transferred via the communications interface are in the form of signals which may be electronic, electromagnetic, optical or other signals capable of being received by the communications interface medium.

In this application, the terms "computer program product," "computer-readable medium," and the like are used generally to refer to tangible media, such as memory, storage devices, or storage units. These and other forms of computer-readable media may store one or more instructions for use by a processor, including a computer system, to cause the processor to perform specified operations. These instructions, which are generally referred to as "computer program code" (which may be grouped in the form of computer programs or other groupings), when executed, enable the computer system to perform functions of embodiments of the present application. It is noted that the code may directly cause the processor to perform specified operations, may be compiled to do so, and/or may be combined with other software, hardware, and/or firmware elements (e.g., libraries for performing standard functions) to do so.

The non-computer readable medium may comprise at least one from the group of: hard disks, Compact disk Read Only memories (CD-ROMs), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, Read Only Memories (ROMs), Programmable Read Only Memories (PROMs), Erasable Programmable Read Only Memories (EPROMs), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memories (EEPROMs), and flash memories (flashmemories).

In embodiments implemented by software, the software may be stored in a computer-readable medium and loaded into the computing system using, for example, a removable storage drive. A control module (e.g., software instructions or executable computer program code) executed by a processor in a computer system causes the processor to perform functions as described herein.

Further, the present application may be applied in any circuit for performing signal processing functions in a network element. For example, it is further contemplated that a semiconductor manufacturer may employ the innovative concepts in the design of a stand-alone device, which may be a microcontroller (DSP) of a digital signal processor, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), and/or any other subsystem element.

For clarity of description, the foregoing description has described embodiments of the present application with reference to a single processing logic. However, the present application may equally well implement signal processing functions by means of a plurality of different functional units and processors. Thus, references to specific functional units are only to be seen as references to suitable means for providing the described functionality rather than indicative of a strict logical, physical structure or organization.

Aspects of the present application may be implemented in any suitable form including hardware, software, firmware or any combination of these. The present application may optionally be implemented, at least partly, as computer software, a computer software component, such as an FPGA device, running on one or more data processors and/or digital signal processors or configurable modules. Thus, the elements and components of an embodiment of the application may be physically, functionally and logically implemented in any suitable way. Indeed the functionality may be implemented in a single unit, in a plurality of units or as part of other functional units.

Although the present application has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments, the above-described preferred embodiments are not intended to limit the present application, and the scope of the present application is defined by the following claims. Furthermore, while descriptions of features related to particular embodiments may appear, one skilled in the art may, in light of the present disclosure, appreciate various features of such embodiments. In the claims, the term "comprising" does not exclude the presence of other elements or steps.

Further, although individually listed, a plurality of means, elements or method steps may be implemented by e.g. a single unit or processor. Furthermore, although different features may comprise different claims, these may possibly advantageously be combined, and the inclusion in different claims does not imply that a combination of features is not feasible and/or advantageous. Likewise, the inclusion of a feature in one set of claims does not imply a limitation to this set of claims, but rather indicates that the feature is equally applicable to other claim categories, as appropriate.

Further, the ordering of features in the claims does not imply that the features must be performed in a particular order, and in particular the order of individual steps in a method claim does not imply that the steps must be performed in this order. Rather, the steps may be performed in any suitable order. Furthermore, singular references do not exclude a plurality. Thus, the singular forms "a", "an", "first", "second", etc. do not exclude the plural forms.

Although the present application has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments, the above-described preferred embodiments are not intended to limit the present application, and the scope of the present application is defined by the following claims. Furthermore, while descriptions of features related to particular embodiments may appear, one skilled in the art may, in light of the present disclosure, appreciate various features of such embodiments. In the claims, the term "comprising" or "including" does not exclude the presence of other elements.

Claims (31)

1. A method of reporting cell information, the method performed by a mobile device in communication with a base station in a cellular communication network, the method comprising:

receiving, at the mobile device, measurement instructions from the base station;

detecting a signal and determining an identity of at least one cell when the base station from the at least one cell is not connected, the at least one cell not currently serving the mobile device;

comparing the identifier of the at least one cell with a cell blacklist, wherein the cell blacklist is a list of cells requesting the mobile terminal not to report;

acquiring system information from at least one cell which is not listed in the cell blacklist;

establishing connection with the base station; and the number of the first and second groups,

reporting information of at least one cell not blacklisted for the cell.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the measurement instruction is received while the mobile device is in an idle state.

3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the measurement instruction is received in a broadcast message.

4. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the measurement instruction is received in system information broadcast by the base station.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the measurement instruction is received while the UE is in a connected state.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the measurement instruction is received in a dedicated message transmitted to the mobile device.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the dedicated message is an RRC message.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the RRC message is included in an RRC connection release message.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the UE releases the connection after receiving the measurement instruction and before the step of detecting the signal.

10. The method according to any of claims 1 to 9, wherein the measurement instruction comprises the blacklist.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, further comprising:

comparing the identity of the at least one cell to a cell white list, the cell white list being a list of cells requesting the mobile device to report.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the measurement instruction comprises the whitelist.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the mobile device only obtains the system information of the cells in the white list, or wherein the mobile device preferentially obtains the system information of the cells in the white list.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, further comprising:

the power and/or quality of the measured signal is compared to a corresponding threshold and cell information is only reported if the power and/or quality of the measured signal is greater than a configured threshold.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the mobile device reports cell information with highest power that is not blacklisted.

16. The method according to any of claims 1 to 15, wherein the mobile device reports only the cell information in the white list, or wherein the mobile device reports the cell information in the white list preferentially.

17. Method according to any of claims 1 to 16, wherein a specific black list is provided for intra-frequency cells that may be detected.

18. Method according to any of claims 1 to 17, wherein a specific black list is provided for inter-frequency cells that may be detected.

19. Method according to any of claims 1 to 18, characterized in that for at least one specific frequency a specific black list is provided.

20. Method according to any of claims 1 to 19, wherein a specific blacklist is provided for inter-RAT cells that may be detected.

21. The method according to any of claims 1 to 20, wherein the steps of receiving, detecting, comparing and obtaining are performed while the mobile device is in an idle state.

22. The method of any of claims 1 to 21, wherein the method is initiated in response to the mobile device transitioning to an active state for a purpose unrelated to measurement.

23. The method according to any of claims 1 to 22, wherein the cell identity is a physical cell identity and the reporting information comprises at least one of a PCI, ECGI, TA and P L MN ID.

24. The method according to any of claims 1 to 23, characterized in that the step of detecting signals is performed on frequencies indicated in advance for cell reselection in a system information message.

25. The method according to any of claims 1 to 24, wherein said blacklist is all or part of a blacklist received in a system information message.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the system information message is a SIB4-NB, a SIB5-NB, or a SIB 7-NB.

27. The method according to any of claims 1 to 26, wherein the mobile device reports only information of the strongest power cell and/or strongest quality cell detected from the measurement order.

28. The method of any of claims 1 to 27, wherein the blacklist is empty and the mobile device reports at least one of a PCI, ECGI, TA and P L MN ID of a strongest cell, which is a cell satisfying a signal power threshold and/or a quality threshold per frequency.

29. The method according to any of claims 1 to 28, wherein the step of detecting a signal is performed after the mobile device enters RRC idle state, and the step of reporting information is performed when a connection is established for other purposes, wherein the mobile device discards information to be transmitted or establishes a connection to transmit the information if a predetermined time limit expires before the connection is established.

30. A method for obtaining cell information, the method being performed by a base station in a cellular communication network, the method comprising:

sending a measurement instruction in a system information broadcast message, wherein the system information broadcast message at least comprises a cell blacklist which does not request information; and the number of the first and second groups,

receiving information related to at least one cell not listed in the blacklist from a UE, wherein the UE receives the system information broadcast message.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the broadcast message further comprises a cell white list requesting information.

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